¶ 39Leave a comment on paragraph 390
vis-à-vis the audience in this paragraph. You may wish to focus on personal pronouns (mihi, vobis), Cicero’s use of qualifying words or phrases (satis, videor, videatur), his preference for passive or impersonal constructions, as well as rhetorical questions and assertions.

¶ 42Leave a comment on paragraph 420Discussion Point: Cicero argues that the citizens do not really have a choice: there is only one! Is that (ever ) true? And do you think that everyone in Cicero’s original audience would have agreed? Who might have registered a protest?

¶ 96Leave a comment on paragraph 960Discussion Point: Consider the four qualities that Cicero views as essential attributes of the perfect general: scientia rei militaris, virtus, auctoritas, felicitas. Are they still relevant qualities for military commanders today? Which qualities would your perfect general have?

¶ 347Leave a comment on paragraph 3470▪ Identify the various clauses and constructions that make up the first long sentence (Inde cum … Ciliciam adiunxit): what are the subjects, what the main verbs? How are they linked? How many ablative absolutes can you spot? How many subordinate

¶ 363Leave a comment on paragraph 3630Stylistic Appreciation: This is the last of several paragraphs that Cicero devotes to Pompey’s campaign against the pirates. What are the rhetorical means by which he generates a sense of closure?

¶ 388Leave a comment on paragraph 3880Stylistic Appreciation: Cicero has reached a pivotal moment in his argument: after discussion of Pompey’s prowess as military leader, he now focuses on his personal qualities more broadly. Discuss the stylistic devices he uses to emphasize their importance.

¶ 391Leave a comment on paragraph 3910Discussion Point: Can you find contemporary parallels for Cicero’s claim that good military leaders ought to possess ‘soft qualities’ of the kind he discusses here, to complement strategic or martial excellence?

¶ 426Leave a comment on paragraph 4260Discussion Point: What are the mechanisms by which ancient and modern governments ensure the proper use of public funds by elected officials? What laws against bribery and embezzlement existed in ancient Rome – as compared to contemporary Britain?

¶ 498Leave a comment on paragraph 4980
1 ‘enclitic’ is a linguistic term deriving from the Greek enklinein = ‘to lean on’; it is a word that does not stand on its own so gets attached to (‘leans on’) the preceding one.

¶ 524Leave a comment on paragraph 5240Discussion Point: Cicero ends this section by invoking the normative force of the ancestors. Are ‘older generations’ by definition ethically superior – in ancient Rome and elsewhere in history?

¶ 658Leave a comment on paragraph 6580Stylistic Appreciation: In the indirect statement dependent on sciamus Cicero switches into an ‘anthropological register’ with a statement about how humans behave in extreme situations. What is the rhetorical effect of this switch?

¶ 661Leave a comment on paragraph 6610Discussion Point: Can you think of figures in your life who are formally invested with power of one sort or another because of their social role or office (= potestas) but have little or no auctoritas (‘commanding respect’) – or, conversely, of individuals who do not possess any formal powers but nevertheless command respect and obedience? How would you explain this?

¶ 704Leave a comment on paragraph 7040Discussion Point: Explore the correlation between the appointment of Pompey as general in the war against the pirates and the ensuing drop in the price of corn in Rome. Why is this ‘cause-and-effect’ relationship between a political decision and its economic consequences such a brilliant illustration of Pompey’s auctoritas?

¶ 782Leave a comment on paragraph 7820Stylistic Appreciation: Cicero declares that he wishes to speak about Pompey’s felicitas ‘timide et pauca’. What are the rhetorical ploys by which he puts this principle into practice?

¶ 785Leave a comment on paragraph 7850Discussion Point: felicitas indicates divine support. Can you think of contemporary politicians who appeal to the supernatural sphere as a source of support in governance?